Beyond the Outer Gates Lies… A high school library?
by Xavon Wrentaile
Summary: An spinoff/alt version of Beyond the Outer Gates Lies... by gabriel blessing. Originally written to show how might Reya might join Harry's harem, though now 2 of the six planned chapters will have nothing to do with that (and one will be tangential at best).
1. Chapter 1

_**Author's note:** just a quick drabble in response to a challenge. so it might not be up to par. But I also don't have a huge amount of time to spend on recursive fan fics, so there you go..._

_Also, I originally was going to have Harry exposition that he discovered after the Incident, that he can now speak Japanese w/o Lash. Not as well as he can with, but that after two years of constant translation, some of it had soaked in. But I cut it for messing with the flow, and because I did not want to drift too far from the original fic.  
><em>

_Finally, as it has been made known me it was not clear, "the Incident" refers to gabriel blessing's Rule 63 omake. Just so you know._

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><p>I glanced at the phone in my right hand, my left resting on a the thick, hated tome. She was about twelve minutes late, and I had to resist the urge to drum my gloved fingers on the heavy book. She wasn't the type to keep me waiting, so my mind naturally began to spin out worst case scenarios. An attack by the Hero Faction, the Old Maou Faction, or another element of the Chaos Brigade? Or Azazel conducting another experiment? The latter thought made me shudder slightly.<p>

Then the door to the library opened, and I craned my head out of the secluded alcove where we met. She quickly crossed the open area near the entrance, and slipped between the shelves to the smaller table by the window where we met. I quickly pocketed my cellular so she wouldn't see I had been watching the time.

"I am truly sorry I am late, Dresden-kun," the girl bowed her head slightly, "Kaichou kept us longer than I expected."

Kusaka Reya was tall for a Japanese girl, not quite a half-inch shorter than Tsubasa. She had soft brown hair with just a hint of red, drawn into twin braids that ran down to the middle of her back. Her hazel eyes also had a soft cant, and while she currently wore her usual kind expression, I knew from experience that those eyes could look fierce when they needed to. And while not quite up to Rias or Akeno's standard, the Bishop rivaled Tsubaki for the title of 'Most Well-Endowed Member of Kouh's Student Council'.

Silently cursing Ise for that last thought, I clamped down on both my hormones and Winter, and shot Lash a warning mental glare. Reya was interested in Kiba anyway, so there was not any risk from that angle. But I did not want to let myself get into the habit of objectifying the girls around me to much. Or else the Fallen shadow trapped in my head might get more ideas.

"It's no problem," I told her easily, "I was just getting a little worried that something happened."

"No, just paperwork," the book-girl explained softly. She took the seat next to me, her eyes shining slightly as they fell on the book. I could not share her excitement, but buried my distaste.

"Shall we get started?" she asked, and I nodded. Placing the hardcover volume between us, I grabbed the bookmark and levering it open to where we had left off.

"Here stood the hundred or so horseless stag coaches that always took the students above first year up to the castle. Harry glanced quickly at them, turned away to keep a lookout for Ron and Hermione, then did a double take." she read aloud dutifully.

"Stagecoaches," I pointed to the word as I gently corrected her. She let out a soft 'ah', and then continued reading.

You might be wondering why I was with Reya, reading from the series that was the bane of my existence. It started a few days after the Incident that Will Never Be Spoken Of Again. Sona's Bishop had approached me, and asked for a favor. Reya was an avid reader, to put it lightly. And thanks to my frequent offhand quotes and references, she knew that our areas of interest overlapped. She wanted to reread some of her favorites in the original English. And since I was an American, she thought I would be able to help her understand them, and more importantly, improve her English reading skills at the same time.

Even though they had told me more than once in the past, I tended to forget that the devil's Language ability only covered speech, not text; one more point for Lash. Reya explained to me that with a phonetic alphabet, like Japanese kana or Latin letters, a devil could sound out the words, speak them aloud, and Language would kick in with the translation. Of course, that was much slower than just reading, and was embarrassing to the reader and disruptive to anyone around them. Which was better than nothing, until you took into account that English is a pretty messed up language. 'ei' can sound like a hard e, or hard a, depending on the word. And that's just for starters. Language might have been able to translate, but it was pretty dumb about it. Pronounce the word wrong, and it would give you the meaning of the word you said, not the word you meant. Assuming the word you said wasn't just gibberish.

The book-girl Bishop was already the sort of girl I would run errands for at the drop of my non-existent hat, so I wouldn't have said no. But when I saw the book she was carrying, I struggled not to jump at the chance. It had been years since I had read _Dragons of Autumn Twilight_, and since arriving in Bizzaro world, I had not seen so much as a copy. And this was an English edition. So I had told her I could not count it as a favor, since I wanted to read the book again, too.

As we worked our way through the Dragonlance Chronicles, and then The Lord of the Rings trilogies, I learned the other reasons Reya had approached me. It seemed Language had other limitations. It did reasonably well with slang, poorly with made up words like mithril, was downright abysmal when it came to metaphors, and did nothing for cultural references. It also failed to render meaning to proper names. Burrfoot was just a single word, just a name to Language. The idea the the name was a combination of 'burr' and 'foot', meaning a prickly annoyance, was lost.

Which brought us to the current series. Even though Reya's reading was rapidly improving, she still needed me for the culture gap. And after we finish _The Return of the King_, next on her list was _Harry Potter and the Philospher's Stone_. Since it was the British version, without the stupid name change, I agreed to read it. I convinced myself that I had never given the series a fair shake to begin with. I was not making excuses for the fact the I enjoyed reading with the Bishop, and couldn't say no to her. Nope, not it at all.

They weren't as bad as I was hoping. I would never stop hating them for all the grief they caused me. But I have to admit, I have read worse. Especially since I discovered fanfiction dot net.

I took over the speaking part for a bit, the words coming quicker and easier to me. Occasionally, she would stop me to go over a pronunciation or so I could explain something to her, at which point I would switch back to Japanese. I pointedly ignored the way she leaning in closer, and the way my hormones did a tap-dance at the slight pressure of her full breast against my arm.

'Nothing to think about here,' I told myself, briefly forgetting that my internal monologues were not unobserved, 'she is just trying to get a better look at the book.'

'Of course not, my host,' Lash punished my lapse with her sarcastic agreement, 'You are not interested, and neither is the Bishop. Even if her attentions have been less focused on Kiba since the Incident...'

I was suddenly treated to an image of myself and Reya, in my bed, naked, spooning so I could also read the book she held. Then the visionary me lightly ran his fingers through the devil's unbound hair.

Unsure if it was Lash or my hormones supplying the daydream, I forced it down without acknowledging it. The last thing I needed was to accuse my roommate and have her honestly deny it.

Reya sighed, returning my entire focus to the real world.

"What's wrong?" I asked, placing the bookmark.

"I was just thinking that I don't have the English versions of the last two Harry Potter books," she said.

Part of me cheered, pumping an imaginary fist. And the larger part felt saddened, understanding the implication that our lessons might be coming to an end.

"And I don't have any other English books right now," she confirmed my suspicion, "Nor are there many in the library."

"Well, if you can afford it, you could get a Nook or Kindle," I offhandedly suggested, "Then you could download English books any time you want. Probably Japanese ones, too."

I was caught completely by surprise when Reya suddenly grabbed my right hand in both of hers. She stared up at me, her eyes shining.

"Harry-san, that is brilliant," she smiled broadly at me, "I cannot believe I never even considered that."

Harry-san? Oh, no.

"Though I might have to talk to Kaichou and Yura-chan about getting more time with you," she said, more shyly than I was comfortable with.

'Fufufu,' Lash giggled triumphantly, 'Now, which one will be next?'

'Next?' I demanded, almost saying it out loud.

'Ise already has four, five if you count the former exorcist, and six with the angel. We cannot afford to let him get too far ahead.'


	2. Chapter 2

_**Author's Note:** I didn't plan to do this, but somehow I ended up with an outline including 4 more chapters. So there you go. And GB, if you happen to read this, please feel free to take any ideas herein, or even just the text verbatim. __Okay, no more author's notes for the rest of the story. Probably._

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><p><em><strong>Beyond the Outer Gates Lies...A Movie Marathon?<strong>_

I braced myself, using a deep breath and full body shudder to center myself. It couldn't be that bad, right? There were rules that were being followed (even if I did not know or understand them), and there would be chaperones. And if it got too Dangerous, I could always run away, screaming like a little girl. I took another calming breath, and pressed the door buzzer.

"Hi, Harry-kun," Yura Tsubasa greeted me as soon as the door to her family's apartment opened. I hesitated, and not just because of how the casual tank top and capris shorts showed more skin than her uniform and better emphasized her figure. Instead, it was a remnant of my home world.

In my world, homes had thresholds. Any supernatural entity that crossed a threshold without permission paid for it. As a wizard, doing so would have weakened my powers for as long as I was in the home. Other creatures, like the fey, had it even worse. That was also the source of the legend that a vampire couldn't enter your house uninvited. It wasn't that they couldn't, just that doing so would cripple them.

As odd as it might sound, since I landed in Bizzaro world, I had never once entered another person's home. And while a gentle probe did not reveal a threshold as I knew, that didn't mean Bizzaro World didn't have something similar that I just wasn't aware of.

"Come in." she encouraged me, and with the invitation extended, I stepped inside. I gave Tsubasa my coat when she held out her arm for it. And when I set down my bag to take off my shoes, she picked up that as well.

"You look nice," she told me, "But aren't you a bit warm?"

Despite the steadily growing heat of the Japanese summer, I was wearing full-length blue jeans, a long-sleeve, dark grey t-shirt, and my usual black leather glove. It was uncomfortable, but better than the alternative.

"I'd rather not expose anyone to the sight of my hairy, white legs," I told her, "I reserve that for enemies I really want to torture."

"Well, Reya is already here," she giggled slightly as she said it, "And we better get started, if we are going to have any hope of finishing this all in one weekend."

She lead me past the kitchen and dining room, into a large living room with a plush couch, a trio of matching recliners, a couple of end tables, and the largest TV I had ever seen outside of a store. I mean, seriously, the thing's diagonal was probably longer than I was tall.

As we entered the room, Kusaka Reya quickly stood up from her spot on the couch. The bookish devil was wearing a light sundress that went almost down to her knees and had short sleeves as well. It covered a lot more than Tsubasa's outfit, but still showed off plenty of arm, leg, and cleavage, and generally exhibited her figure better than the uniform I was accustom to seeing both girls wear.

"Hello, Harry-san," Reya sounded a bit nervous.

"Good morning, Reya." I considered commenting on her outfit. But I did not; I didn't want to encourage her or Lash. And if I took note of the library girl's appearance, I would have to the same for Tsubasa. And telling the Rook that she looked good would ratchet up the Danger level at least two notches.

"Do you have all of your homework done for the weekend?" the Bishop asked.

"I always do it all on Friday night," I nodded, "Unless I am on a case. That leaves Saturday and Sunday free for jobs, or movies, or whatever."

"I looked it up online, and was thinking we would go chronologically," Tsubasa plowed straight ahead, "Start with Captain America, then Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Incredible Hulk, Thor, Avengers, and the first two episodes of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Then, depending on what time we get done, we can hopefully squeeze in Iron Man 3. That way, tomorrow we can hit the next five episodes of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Thor 2, nine more episodes of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and then Captain America 2. We should still have some time for a few more episodes after that, but I don't think we will be able to finish out the season."

She stopped for a breath, and blushed slightly, "Does that sound good to you two?"

Yes, I was at the home of Yura Tsubasa, a girl actively pursuing me, with Kusaka Reya, a girl I hoped still just wanted to be friends (though it appeared that hope would be dashed) for a Marvel Cinematic Universe movie and TV marathon. As to how that happened…

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><p><em>When the door to the library opened, I quickly yet carefully placed my bag over the top of the open volume. Reya shot me an appreciative look as I stepped out of the alcove to head off whoever it was. Rather than a random student, or worse, Sona, I was confronted by the form of Tsubasa. The Rook was carrying a large stack of books. <em>

_The sight was not unfamiliar, it was a task Reya and I had often been assigned in the past; Reya for her near perfect memorization of the library's layout and contents, and me under my title 'Replacement Stepladder'. But when one or both of us was not available, the task generally fell to Tsubasa, as she could carry more books than the rest of the Student Council, combined._

"_Let me help you," I reflexively told her, taking the top few books, so she could lift the rest of the stack onto the counter._

"_Thank you, Harry-kun," she smiled up at me. I looked at the first book I had taken, and headed off down an aisle._

"_No problem," I told her._

"_Are you sure?" her grin broadened slightly, "Aren't you in here reading with Reya-chan?"_

"_Yup," I agreed, "But neither of us is comfortable reading out loud with anyone else here, so the quicker I get rid of you, the quicker we can get back to it."_

_I gave her an affectionate smirk as I said it, so she knew I was just joking. She stuck her tongue at me and pulled down her right eyelid; but her expression said she was struggling not to chuckle. _

_After we finished shelving the books, Tsubasa followed me back to where Reya was waiting._

"_So, what are you two reading now?" the Rook asked innocently. I waited for her to mention my interests, but she did not. I glanced at the Bishop, who stared down at my bag, not answering. _

"_Well," I stalled, "We are waiting on our Nooks; they were on back order, and shipping from the US is expensive, or slow."_

"_If you don't want to tell me…" the Rook sounded a little disappointed._

"_It's okay," Reya swallowed her pride, and gently moved my bag aside._

_What she uncovered was a thin volume, opened to a pair of pages of full color art, showing a familiar figure in a red spandex costume with blue and black highlights._

"_Is that Spider-man?" Tsubasa asked after a moment._

"_Ultimate Spider-man," I clarified quickly "She still won't tell me where she got them…"_

_Reya gave me a mysterious little smile, letting me know once again that the omission was intentional. She had as much as said that she was not going to reveal her source for English literature to me, so I could not become her competitor. Of course, that meant she was the one paying for the books we were both reading. And we had the excuse we were both looking for to keep up our meetings._

_Tsubasa leaned closer, and asked, "What is the difference, Harry-kun?"_

"_That's a loaded question," I told her, and Reya blanched slightly, probably remembering my borderline rant when she made a similar inquery._

"_Well, let's just say the Ultimate universe is a '_dark, modern'_ reboot of the original Marvel comics," I simplified it, not just for the Bishop's sake, but also because my own views had softened from reading the books with her. But I could not keep all of the derision from my tone. And Tsubasa caught it, and looked at me sideways._

"_Does that mean you don't like the Marvel movies, either?" the blue-haired girl prompted evenly._

"_No, I like most of the movies quite a bit," I told her, "And I don't hate the Ultimate comics. I was just pissed off by some of the fanboys stupidly claiming the Ultimates are better, because they don't have all the continuity. Plus I would have had to buy twice as many comics if I wanted to read them all. But now that I've read them, they aren't too bad. Especially the scene between Peter and Jean Grey in the previous issues."_

_Reya looked amused as she recalled the scene, but also developed a hint of pink in her cheeks. Tsubasa watched us both, and seemed to come to a conclusion._

"_Well, I have all the movies, and the S.H.I.E.L.D. TV show, on Blu-Ray," Tsubasa informed us with a confident smile, "And a big TV. Maybe you two could come over this weekend and we could watch them all. Then Harry-kun can tell us how the movies are different from the original comics, Reya-chan…"_

_The librarian looked up at her friend speculatively._

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><p>I still had not seen second Thor or Cap movies, or any of the spin off TV show. And who doesn't love a massive movie marathon? Probably most people, actually. But I have always worn my fandoms on my sleeve. So my inner geek had trampled any caution I might have felt.<p>

"I will have to defer to Harry-san's expertise in the matter," Reya said, after considering Tsubasa's proposed viewing order.

"Sounds good," I agreed with the Rook's plan, "So where you thinking lunch after the first movie, and ordering dinner between Hulk and Thor?"

"Yes," she nodded, remembering my insistence that a true American film festival would not be complete without greasy, American style pizza. I had even insisted on paying, seeing as how Tsubasa was providing the location and equipment. I chose to ignore that fact that neither girl had objected, and in fact both seemed a little eager…

"And I have the guest room laid out for you, Harry-kun," she continued, "I put out two futons, since you are too tall for any of the ones we have. Reya, you will be staying in my room with me."

Right, sleepover. Tsubasa had insisted it was most efficient that way. My hormones and Lash had both thoroughly agreed, and the logical side of my brain decided that the sometimes brazen devil would have both Reya and her parents to contend with if she decided to get frisky.

Though now that I was here, that same logical side suddenly remembered the comments Tsubasa had made during and after the Incident. And that the buxom Bishop might not be much of a deterrent. She would more likely be a secondary target. Or even a reluctant assistant if Lash was right. On that thought…

"Before we start, I should say hi to your parents," I told Tsubasa, "and thank them for letting us do this."

"Oh?" the Rook tilted her head in poorly feigned innocence, "Did I forget to tell you they are out of town this weekend? Part of the reason I asked you two to come over was so I wouldn't have to be all alone."

'Okay, not good,' I managed not to bolt. But before I could move or respond, Tsubasa latched onto my arm, pulling it firmly into her cleavage.

"Come on, Harry-kun," she dragged me down to the couch, "Reya-chan, will you put in the first movie?"

'Would you convey my admiration to the Rook, my host?' Lash laughed at me, as the disc menu appeared on the screen.

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><p>So far, things had been going okay. The movies were almost the same as they had been in my home universe, and the minor differences made the repeat watching more enjoyable. And other than wedging me between them, and the occasionally hugging my arms tightly against their pleasantly soft chests during tense or surprising scenes, their behavior had been downright tame.<p>

After Incredible Hulk, we took a quick break for me to call Pizza Hut. Lash insisted in ordering from the company that supported the revolution, whatever that meant. But they had the requisite toppings and grease quotient, so I didn't bother arguing with her.

We settled back in to watch the first part of Thor as we waited for our meal. But when the title character appeared for the first time, both devils gasped loudly. I instinctively hit pause, and reached for my absent blasting rod, currently hanging in the Yura family's coat closet.

"What is it?" I demand, getting ready to turn whatever had alarmed my girls in a block of ice.

The girls. 'The', not 'my'. God, I hope that was not a thought Lash could hear.

"That's Thor," Tsubasa said, pointing at the frozen TV.

"Well, yeah," I nodded, confused, "That is the movie we're watching."

"No, she means that is really the god Thor," Reya explained.

"Nooo," I insisted, praying again to the expired Christian deity, "That's an actor. Chris Helmsworth or something like that."

"No," the Bishop shook her head, her conviction dashing my hopes, "Kaichou made us memorize the faces of various gods and spirits who are still active in the mortal world. Though his hair and beard are different, to match the character, that is definitely the Viking god, Thor."

"But he has been in other movies," I was whining. I knew I was whining. Just like I knew that Bizzaro World had thrown me another curveball.

"There are stories of Thor's acting prowess," Reya recalled, "According to legend, he was able to fool the Jotun king into thinking that he was Freya.

"Taking other roles probably helps keep people from asking questions," Tsubasa suggested.

'It is a good plan,' Lash noted, 'If the gods of this world can gather power from human belief as they did in our world, then placing himself in the movie about his comic book counterpart would maximize the effect.'

"So is that the real Loki, too?" I demanded of all three of them, "Is Anthony Hopkins just Odin in disguise?"

"I don't recognize the others," Tsubasa told me.

'Thor would have the most to gain, being the central character and the hero,' Lash added, 'The likes of Odin or Loki would be better served with a professional actor who will improve the quality or star-power of the film. The better to make people see the film.'

"Okay," I sighed, "Well, if Laufey is being played by a real Jotun, can you save that until after the movie, please?"

Tsubasa grinned at me, while Reya nodded seriously. And as I reached for the remote again, the door buzzer rang, indicating the arrival of our dinner.

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><p>Unfortunately, by the time we finished with the second episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Reya's eyes were drooping. Tsubasa half led, half carried the dozing Bishop to the room they were going to share. Meanwhile, I started to pick up the popcorn bowl and soda bottles littered around the room.<p>

"What time does the operation launch, Director Dresden?" Lash suddenly appeared before me, and made her voice sound real. She wore an all too familiar skin-tight black cat suit, and her vocal inflections also called to mind Scarlett Johansson's portrayal of Black Widow.

'What operation is that, Agent Lash,' I indulged her a little, for keeping quiet during the movies. But I also answered her silently. I did not put it past her to trick me into saying something suggestive or embarrassing when two of her targets for my supposed harem were in earshot.

"Operation 'Pajama Inspection', of course," she answered, still in character.

'Lash, I am not going to sneak into Tsubasa's room,' I informed her sternly. She started to counter, so I quickly added, 'Even if Tsubasa probably wouldn't mind, it would probably lock out Reya's route.'

The Fallen nodded thoughtfully, but also put on a slight smirk. Damn it, she had me talking about 'routes'. And made me suggest I didn't want to ruin my chances with Reya.

"You didn't have to clean up, Harry," Tsubasa's voice interrupted us, and Lash obligingly vanished. As I turned to look at her, I nearly dropped what I was carrying.

Tsubasa had already changed into her sleepwear. Which consisted of a camisole and boy-short bottoms, both of which were thinner and tighter than her originally brief outfit. I could feel Lash's smirk in my head, while my hormones cheered their approval. I took a quick breath and locked my eyes on the unpopped kernels, before it became uncomfortable to walk, in more ways than one.

"I wanted to," I told her, moving quickly towards the kitchen, "It's the least I can do."

"Well, let me help," she insisted. We quickly sorted the garbage and recyclables, and washed the extra-large bowl. I was very careful not to look at her, especially when she accidently splashed herself while drying.

At least, I hope it was accidental.

After we finished, there was a brief, awkward silence. I was not looking at her. She knew, and she probably knew why. And I knew she knew. Finally she broke the silence by stepping in close.

"Good night, Harry," she went up on her tip-toes and kissed me lightly on the check, "I will see you in the morning."

She stepped away, but had one more parting shot.

"And if you _aren't_ picturing me naked, I _won't_ appreciate it."

Then she vanished into her room.

"It looks like Reya lent her issue 43," I noted blandly.

"Or she googled it," Lash agreed, remaining invisible but making it sound real again. As I hung the towel back up, my shadow thought of something else.

"Are you sure you don't want to go get a good night kiss from the Bishop as well?" Lash prompted. I ignored her and trudged off to the room I was borrowing.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Beyond the Outer Gates Lies...Devilish Research (part 1)?**_

"So, Dresden-kun, what can we do for you?" Rias Gremory asked me, leaning forward slightly in her chair. She tried to look serious, but she was clearly curious. And more than that, I could tell she was excited to have some kind of leverage to get me to join her peerage. Unfortunately for her, she didn't have anything on the likes of Mab and Niocdemus. The young devil was clever, but the types I was used to negotiating with would have eaten her alive. Some literally.

She and I were meeting in the Occult Research Club's room in the old schoolhouse. Most of ORC was missing, except for Asia Argento and Hyoudou Issei, as I requested.

"This scar," I ran a finger down the mark the Shagnasty left on my face, "is not as long as it used to be. And more importantly, I'm pretty sure it's not as long as it should be."

All three of them studied my face, unclear what exactly I meant by the statement.

"I guess it might be a little shorter than when we first met," Ise conceded.

"What do you mean, 'it is not as long as it should be', Dresden-kun?" Rias prompted me.

"During the _Incident_," I answered, "Asia saw my scars, and tried to heal them."

I left my answer short, trying to avoid thinking about that as much as possible.

"And it did not work, as Twilight Healing does not work on scars," ORC's leader frowned.

"That was what I thought at the time, too," I told her, "But I was also distracted by current events, and my scars were not quite the same size and shape they normally are. But a few days ago, Lash commented that this one was smaller than before the Incident."

She had actually provided me with before and after memories proving her point, and we had talked about how it happened. Barring some unknown property of Bizzaro World, or a side effect of Azazel's gun, Asia was the most likely culprit. And the only theory I was willing to test.

I didn't really mind my scars. I had earned some of them, and wore them with honor. As for the rest, well none of them were permanent. But life would be easier without the disturbing and highly recognizable roadmap of past battles on my skin.

"Our abilities grow and change as we use them," I pointed out, "Like how Ise's gauntlet can now become armor. So maybe Asia is gaining the ability to deal with scars. Or maybe not, since my scars are different…"

"What do you mean?" Rias prompted.

"I'm guessing Ise or Sona have told you about my past," I told the red-head. She nodded, so I continued, "Early in my 'apprenticeship', my teacher did something to me. He changed how my body heals. I recover normally up to the point where most people's bodies would stop healing. But then my body keeps going, just at a much, much slower rate.

It wasn't precisely a lie, though what Justin had done to change me was teaching me magic. It was why wizards in my universe measured their lives in centuries, not decades. But from what I had learned, the magicians in Bizzaro world did not have the same advantage. They healed like regular people, and did not live longer unless they specifically used magic to do so.

"I have bones that were broken, that now show up on an X-ray without so much as a mark. We estimated that in another forty or so years, most of these scars will be gone."

"And could you replicate what your master did to you?" Rias prompted.

"I don't know," I said honestly. Back home, magic was an inherited trait. Even if I taught someone from Bizzaro world to use magic like I did, there was no guarantee that they would live longer or keep healing until all signs of their injuries were gone. I might be able to research a spell to replicate the effect, but it probably wouldn't be any more permanent than the rest of my enchantments.

"It would potentially take years to figure out what he did, and even then, it might only work on Humans," I told her, "Or, knowing him, might involve something neither of us would be comfortable doing. Besides, you already have some kind of healing power yourself, from what Ise tells me."

Both the King and Pawn blushed at that, and I remembered he had said that, to fix his injuries, she had climbed into bed with him naked, and pretty much wrapped herself around him.

"And you have Asia, who is an even better healer," I continued, "So why would you want something weak like what I have?"

"Hmm," Rias considered my argument. Then she returned to the original topic, "So you think Asia's power may have worked on your scars because of your unusual body. And you want to verify that, and if it is true, have her remove them."

Like I said, she was sharp. I nodded, and her expression went back into negotiation mode.

"Wait, then why I am I here?" Ise asked before she could start haggling.

"I was thinking that if you boosted Asia's powers, at least for the first test run, we would be better able to see it work. If her power makes the scar a millimeter shorter, it would be hard to tell. But if you amp her up and it shrinks by a centimeter, we know we are in business."

"So, what are your prepared to offer me for the services of my Pawn and Bishop?" Rias asked, leaning forward across her desk, narrowing her eyes.

"Absolutely nothing," I answered cheerfully. The red head straightened and her eyes opened back up, shocked by my unexpected response.

"The way I see it, you have a lot more to gain from this than I do," I explained, "I don't mind my scars, and I know they aren't permanent. But they make other people uncomfortable, so I try to avoid swimming or other activities that show off my chest, back, and upper arms. And I know Sona would be happy if I could stop wearing this glove. Though I would still have to wear it anyway, so that people wouldn't ask questions."

That, and I had started using it as a repository for my experimental enhancements. The glove, being smaller, took less energy to enchant. And when I messed it up, it was cheaper to replace than my duster. Or my rings. Or my bracelet.

"For you, if this works, it will give both Asia and Ise a chance to practice their powers without anyone suffering any new injuries. And even if she can't heal regular scars now, it is possible working on me might awaken that kind of power. Plus, if my scars are gone, you might finally be able to talk me into one of those beach excursions."

Then I gave her a probing look.

"But the real reason I am not negotiating, is because I thought we were all friends. And friends shouldn't need to negotiate to help each other. I'm pretty sure I didn't when I helped with the whole Raynare incident, or when I helped in the fight against Kokabiel."

Rias nodded, looking mildly ashamed.

"You are right of course," she said. And then she grinned slightly, and added, "If this works, I will considered you paid back for your help in those two incidents."

I chuckled and waved my hand in acceptance of her 'terms'.

"Asia, you currently are comfortable with an eight fold boost from the Boosted Gear, right?" the King asked her Bishop. The younger devil nodded.

"BOOST," the gauntlet which appeared on Ise's arm announced.

"Do you feel up to trying a sixteen fold boost?" Rias prompted kindly.

I wondered briefly at the jump, but quickly remembered that each time the Sacred Gear spoke it was doubling in power. So the eight times boost would have been after three build ups, and one more would take it to sixteen.

Asia looked at the scar on my face, and put on an expression that said 'today, that dangling string is going down'.

"Yes," the blonde declared, "If I am going to grow my power, and help Dresden-san, I need to do at least that much."

"BOOST," the voice I assumed belonged to Ddraig seemed to agree.

"Okay, that gives us just enough time to get ready," I noted, taking a black Sharpie® out of my pocket. I extended the marker to Asia and asked, "Sister, can I get you to do it?"

"Hmm?" her war-face vanished in her confusion, but she took the Sharpie® anyway.

"Trace the top of the scar," I instructed, pointing to the line on my cheek, "We'll have you focus your power on this one, since it is easiest to see and track. Then, we can use the marker line to tell if it is any smaller, and if so, how much."

"BOOST."

Asia nodded, and began to carefully draw on my face, her tongue sticking out slightly as she concentrated. Rias came around her desk to observe more closely, and nodded her approval of the Bishop's work.

"You know that doesn't wash off, Dresden," Ise warned me too late.

"Yeah, but I have a cantrip for that. Elaine used to scribble on my face for revenge, so I came up with a spell to clean it off."

"You made a spell for that," Ise deadpanned.

"Better than spending an hour scrubbing my face raw," I countered glibly.

"Would that also work for make-up?" Rias asked.

"You know it might," I said thoughtfully, "Maybe I should adapt it into a calculated spell…"

"All done," Asia informed me, and behind her, Ise's left arm proclaimed "BOOST."

"Let's give this whirl then," I said, less evenly than I felt. Despite declaring that I was fine with my scars, now that there was a chance to remove them faster, I was a little worried that it wouldn't work.

Asia placed her hands on my cheeks, her fingers framing the scar, presumably so she could focus her powers on it and still see it.

"Transfer," Ise intoned, placing his gauntleted hand on the blonde's shoulder. The former nun's eyes squinted and her lips pursed as she put on her war-face again.

"Heal!"

Her hands lit up with a soothing green glow, and I felt my souvenir from the skinwalker begin to warm. And then itch, not unlike a scab getting ready to fall off. After thirty seconds, Asia started breathing harder, and I realized she really was treating it like exercise. I wanted to tell her to take it easy, but I knew she still felt she owed me for trying to save her when we first met. And there was the line I fed Rias about working on their powers.

She held out for about another minute, and the slumped back into Ise's waiting arms.

"I'm sorry, Dresden-san, that's all I can do for now," she said regretfully.

"No apologies needed, Asia," I told her, "Thank you for trying. And now for the 64,000 dollar question, did it work?"

"Take a look for yourself," Rias gestured towards her bathing area with a satisfied smile. Resisting the urge to shake my head again at her not-so-little indulgence in the ORC's clubroom, I quickly crossed to the corner, opened the curtains, and looked at my face.

'Congratulations, my host,' Lash said. And then amused herself by feeding me a mecha-style heads-up display, showing a translucent version of the original scar, and a calculation of its decreased surface area.

Even without the marker line or the Fallen's fun, the effect was obvious. Lash's readout said that the scar was 18.476% smaller, and it showed. It no longer looked like I had come close to losing an eye to a monster. It looked more like a really bad accident shaving with a straight razor. Or maybe a Bowie knife. However you described it, it looked like Asia's power would work with my 'Wolverine on suppressants' body.

"Huh," I grunted, "I guess it really did work. Thank you, Asia."

The young devil gave me an exhausted smile.

"_Brillo-us_," I intoned, removing the black lines from my cheek.

"It looks like it will take three or four more sessions to remove that scar," Rias said thoughtfully, "And from what I remember of your other scars, they will probably take even longer."

"I don't think Asia is going to be up for another round today," Ise said softly. Both Rias and I looked, and we realized the blonde was asleep in his arms.

"Tomorrow then?" the King prompted. It seemed she was a little anxious to improve her Pieces. Or had another trip to the beach planned.

"I think I'm busy."

'You are meeting Kusaka-chan to continue _Cursor's Fury_,' my day planner told me.

"How about Thursday?" I asked both of them, and then added, "And I probably won't want her to do any more to this scar."

'You are open,' Lash offered, 'And your precaution is wise.'

"Why not?" Ise frowned.

"Like with this," I wiggled my glove at him, "it wouldn't do to have scars that people can usually see, suddenly disappear."

"Thursday it is," Rias agreed, "and then we can plan out the rest of your treatments."

* * *

><p>After leaving the Occult Research Club, I returned to the Student Council room. I needed to make room in my schedule, and that meant talking to the three girls who had the largest claim on my time. Fortunately, I could usually find them all together in the hours after school. Unless one of them was alone with me.<p>

"Good afternoon, Dresden-kun," Sona greeted me warmly as soon as I opened the door. My, or rather Lash's, timing of their activities held true, and the rest of the Sitri peerage was packing up for the day.

"Hey, Sona, Tsubaki, Tsubasa, Reya…" I rattled off the names of the rest of the Council.

"Hello, Harry-san," Reya said happily.

"Hiya, Harry-kun," Tsubasa was already heading towards me as she returned my greeting, and Sona's eye temporarily darted to the forward Rook.

"Did you need something from us?" the slender King asked, a hint of hope in her normally controlled voice.

"Actually, I need to talk to you, Tsubasa, and Reya about my schedule over the next few weeks," I said a tad sheepishly, "I'm conducting an experiment with the Occult Research club, and it is going to take up some of my time for the foreseeable future."

"What sort of experiment?" Sona's glasses glinted and her voice hardened. I could guess why, but before I could explain, Tsubasa got close enough to reach out for my shoulder. But the Rook's hand stopped before she could touch me.

"Harry," she dropped her usual honorific in her surprise, "What happened to your face?"

The rest of the Council paused in their cleanup to stare at me, Reya and Sona immediately looking concerned about whatever it was Tsubasa saw. The rest just looked confused.

"Well…"

* * *

><p>"I must admitted, I share Rias's curiosity in the spell or potion that affected this change in you," Sona noted after I finished my explanation of what I was doing with Asia, and why it worked.<p>

Then she glared at me slightly, "Though I would wonder how your master's enhancement of you is apparently permanent, while your efforts only lasted eighty-seven day."

It looked like she was still holding a grudge about the coats. Even after I had given her group a free refresh, offered her a substantial discount in return for her continuing to tutor me, and pointed out how me she had as much as admitted she low-balled me in the first place.

"And once these treatments are done, I expect you will stop wearing that glove," she added, now thoroughly back in Kaichou mode.

"Sorry, not going to happen," I told her.

"Dresden-kun, I allowed you to wear the glove because of the severity of the scars on your hand. If those scars are gone, so is that reason."

"And what happens when people ask why I stopped?" I countered, "Do I lie and tell them I whipped up a magic potion to heal it? Most won't believe it, and they will start to wonder why you let me wear the glove in the first place, and why I stopped. And I'm not sure you want those kinds of questions."

She nodded slightly.

"And the few outside our little group who have seen my hand, or the ones who just choose to believe, they might start asking me to make a potion I can't."

I paused before striking her out.

"And besides all of that, I have been using my glove to test out new enchantments, and new mixes of old enchantments. This one here has most of the same spells as my coat and my shield bracelet, admittedly with a much smaller area of effect. But I figure I could punch almost anything without having to worry about hurting my hand. Which might be useful for a Rook…"

My attention shifted to Tsubasa. My most active romantic pursuer was studying me thoughtfully.

"I'm guessing you don't approve of me removing my scars," I addressed her softly, remembering her admitted fondness for men who had dragged themselves through the metaphorical mud.

"I'm on the fence," she answered, "I do think they make you look more rugged and dangerous, and part of me worries that other girls might get interested if you get too pretty."

That gave me pause. Even without my scars, I was hardly a looker. Were the standards of devils so different? Or was it Japanese girls? Or maybe it was just the fact that love makes the person you love more attractive in your eyes.

"But if this is what it takes to get you to go to the beach, it may be worth it so I can finally show you my swimsuit," Tsubasa concluded.

A memory suddenly popped up of her in her sleepwear, the camisole cling to her where she had splashed herself..

"Can't be that much better than you in your pajamas."

Reya's eyes widened. I guess she had not been aware of her friend leaving her alone during the movie weekend.

Sona glared, and I wondered just what her Rook and Bishop had told her.

And I let my head drop with a sigh. Even with my raging teenage hormones, and Lash's tricks, I definitely should have known better.

"You really should try to get me a gun, Saji. I'm sure it would make your whole month."

"Why's that?" the Pawn asked, already backing away from the dark aura growing around his King.

"Because at this rate, I'm liable to shoot myself in the foot with it."

I'm not sure if he heard me, because at this point, only Tsubasa, Reya, and I were still in the room with Sona. I decided to thank the Bishop for not abandoning us. You know, if we survived.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Beyond the Outer Gates Lies...A Roll of the Dice?**_

Reya hit the power button on her Nook with a melancholy sigh.

"What's wrong?" I asked, setting down my e-reader.

"Just another series finished," she said, "Even if I like the ending, sometimes I wish they could just keep going on."

"Stories that never end have their own issues," I pointed out, "Isn't that part of the reason we dropped the comic books."

I also knew that she preferred regular novels. And since the meetings were still theoretically so I could help her English reading skills, books served better than comics.

'You just want her to tell you where she was getting them,' Lash interjected.

"I know," Reya agreed, "But I can't help but wonder, what happened next…"

"You know, we could keep the story going ourselves," I looked down at my Nook, and started scrolling through the recently viewed list.

"What do you mean?" she perked up, "Are you suggesting we write a doujinshi, or a fan fiction?"

I suppressed a grimace as Sturgeon's Law suddenly popped into my head. I had no desire to challenge that truism.

"Actually, I had something more like this in mind," I showed her the cover of my latest electronic purchase.

"But we would need more people," I reminded her as that familiar sparkle came back into her eyes, "And I don't know anyone around here. Maybe the school has a club?"

"Not that I know of," she considered that, "But I do not have the club registry memorized. We should ask Kaichou or Fuku-Kaichou."

She was already packing as she suggested it. If I had known it would light this kind of fire in her, I would have suggested it weeks ago.

* * *

><p>"Good afternoon, Dresden-san, Kusaka-san," Sona addressed us as we entered. I took the fact that she was still using 'san' to mean she was still upset over the MCU movie weekend. We had done our best to explain it, but I still got the impression that Tsubasa had undergone some discipline after Reya and I were dismissed. Just something in the way the Rook was sitting the next day.<p>

Despite that, Sona had also insisted she was coming to the next marathon. Tsubasa had been trying to get us to do a Hobbit/Lord of the Rings weekend before I had spilled the beans. She hadn't mentioned it in the week since. I was not sure if Sona had dissuaded her. Or if the Rook was refining her plan to account for her King's interference.

"Have you finished your book early and come to assist us?"

Despite the phrasing, it did not seem like it was a question.

"Actually, we came to ask Kaichou or Fuku-Kaichou a question," despite her denial, the Bishop was settling into her usual chair.

"Oh, and what is that?"

"Does Kuoh have an RPG club?" I asked, taking over for the faltering girl. Sona's eyes locked on to me dangerously. Specifically on to my cheeks. Fortunately, I was still out of range.

"Dresden-kun," Sona's fingers pinched the air reflexively, "I am to understand that, despite my efforts to keep you from illegally acquiring a handgun, you now wish to acquire heavy ordinance?"

"What?" I asked flatly, before I realized what had happened.

I had said 'RPG club' in English. And when Sona's Language kicked it, it had given her one of the two common acronyms for RPG. I assumed based on her statement that, because of my previous attempt to get hold of a gun and because she was still annoyed with me, Language had chosen the more military meaning.

"Not rocket propelled grenade," I told her, using English because the acronyms didn't work in Japanese, "role playing game. You know, Dungeons & Dragons? GURPS?"

I almost mentioned Arcanos by reflex, but remembered that I had been unable to find any trace of the Alphas' preferred system in Bizzaro World. Philistines.

"See, we just finished reading the _Codex Alera_," I decided to explain in more detail, "Great books, by the way. Highly recommended. If I ever need someone to write my biography, that Jim Butcher is the one I'm gonna get."

I snorted in humor at my sudden geek digression.

"Anyway, Reya was sad to see the story end, so I pointed out that there is an officially licensed role playing game for the series. It's a version of the Fate system, an official variant done by the same guys, with some extra rules for Furycrafting. The author even wrote a couple short stories and a bunch of flavor text for the manuals."

"But you cannot play properly with only two people," Reya interrupted me when I went off on a tangent again, "So we were hoping there was a club here where we might be able to find some more people interested in joining us. I did not remember there being such a club, but I thought Kaichou or Fuku-Kaichou would know."

It turned out Reya had an interesting in pen and paper games, even though she had never played one before. She owned a fairly eclectic collection of game books, mostly random splat books dedicated to a specific story she liked (the DragonLance Campaign setting), or for expanding a game's magic system (GURPS: Magic).

"There was such a club, but it was disbanded during my first year due to lack of members," Sona informed us, sounding mildly regretful.

"How many people would you need?" Tsubaki asked.

"Usually one person to run the game, and four to six players," I answered, "Seven or more players tends to be hard for the GM to manage, though if you can get a couple of good co-GMs, it can work. And two or three players tends to limit the party's options."

"I guess we will have to find another way to recruit players," Reya sounded down. But I was ready for it. It's not like a group of werewolf gamers just drops into your lap every universe.

"Could I join your game?" Tsubasa suddenly spoke up for the first time since we had arrived, "I…"

"… would like to know more about your interests," the Rook was interrupted as Tomoe, Tsubaki, and Saji completed her catch phrase. I also caught Ruruko and even Sona mouthing the words.

"Sure," I told Tsubasa easily. To be honest I had been expecting that. What I was not expecting was what came next.

"I would also like to join your group," Sona said, "I know that many students engage in these games, both in groups like this and on computers, so it will serve me in the future to at least familiarize myself with the basic concept."

I was smart enough not to tell her that table top RPGs and video game RPGs have very little in common. Especially given her current mood. And Tsubasa was obviously also being cautious, otherwise I would have expected her to point out what we all knew, that Sona was also being very careful of how much alone time her frisky Rook had with me.

"Oo, can I play too, Reya-chan?" Tomoe interjected before we could answer Sona.

"If Kaichou is playing, count me in," Saji insisted.

"I also think this may be entertaining and informative," Tsubaki said casually. But she wasn't fooling me either; the Queen wanted to defend her King's chances with me, and also be there in case I did anything embarrassing.

"What about you two?" I addressed the last two members of Sona's peerage. With Saji following Sona, I could almost count on Ruruko and Momo coming to keep an eye on him.

"Are you sure?" Momo asked, "You said eight players is too many."

"Fortunately, I have a built in co-GM," I tapped my temple, "And I'm certainly not going to leave anyone out."

'And you do not see fit to consult me?' Lash was definitely annoyed at my presumption.

'Hey, you're the one who wants this harem,' I pointed out, 'if you play your cards right, you might be able to get me to lead Saji's PC into a romance with Momo's or Ruruko's PC, and maybe open his eyes and get him off my back.'

'Your plan is weak, but I am bored,' she admitted, 'I will do it for one additional half-hour of TV time per week.'

'Limited to currently airing anime, and you got yourself a deal.' Otherwise I wouldn't put it past her to pick something adult oriented, or just watching the same thing over and over. Or both.

'Done.'

That was too quick. Either she already had a show she wanted to watch, or she had something she knew I won't want to watch. Or, again, both.

"So if everybody is sure, I guess we should give you a basic run down of the story and the game mechanics…" I announced, reaching for my Nook.

"We still have work to do, Dresden-kun," Sona countered.

"Oh, right," I said sheepishly. But I could not help showing a small smile; she was back to the more familiar suffix.

"But if you lend a hand, we may be able to get started on the gaming sooner," she conceded, "Though we will need to plan a regular time and location for this activity."

"Right," I said again, sitting down at the Student Council's large and expensive conference table.

"Perhaps we can still go over some of the basics of the world, while we work," Reya suggested.

"So long as it does not interfere," Sona capitulated, "So just what is this _Code Alera_ about?"

"Codex," I whispered reflexively.

"Well, it takes place in a world where people can control the elements via spirits known as Furies," the Bishop started, and I gathered my thoughts so I could back her up.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Beyond the Outer Gates Lies...Equity?**_

The building was on fire, and for the second time I could recall, it wasn't my fault. And I'm not sure which is more telling about my life, that the number of burning buildings I had been in was more than I could count without taking my shoes off, or that the number that I was definitely not responsible for was only two.

'So Harry, you are finally willing to admit you can't count to twelve?' Lash needled me gently.

'Not really the time,' I told her shortly, watching the advancing wall of flame carefully.

"Ise, what did you touch?" I asked my friend reproachfully. Then the curtains around the edge of the exit on the other side of the hall ignited and vanished in a heartbeat.

"Nothing!" he insisted, sounding more insulted than defensive. I put up a wall of ice, but the mystical trap was not even slowed.

"Well, someone touched something," I complained in general, and then looked at Rias and Azazel, "Can either of you two stop it?"

I silently wished Sona was here, since her water powers might be effective. But at the same time I was glad none of my tentative love interests were present.

Rias gathered a sphere of her Power of Destruction, and launched it at the center of the advancing flame. The black-red energy hit the wall, and spread across its surface. And then vanished as the wall pushed forward again.

"It is absorbing Devil Power," Azazel sounded more intrigued than worried.

I took another step back from the oppressive heat, wondering not for the first time how I let myself get dragged into this.

* * *

><p><em>"So I understand your harem is expanding," Azazel said, the minute I entered his office. I turned back around without even a word, and started to close the door.<em>

"_Wait, Dresden-kun!" the Fallen Angel desperately shouted at me. I paused, and looked back at him._

"_Where are you going?" he asked._

"_You said you wanted to talk about a job," I told him, "If that 'job' has something to do with my interactions with certain members of the student council, I am leaving. If not, then my love life is not why I am here, and I'm not going to waste time debating the status of my non-existent harem with you."_

"_Denial ain't just a river in Egypt," Az told me in English with a smug grin. I grasped the doorknob and resumed my exit._

"_Fine!" he called out, "all business."_

_I sighed, knowing I would probably regret it. But I stepped into the room and closed the door behind me._

"_Why so serious?" he moped. A multi-millennia old Fallen Angel, with enough power to devastate a small continent, and he was pouting because I wouldn't talk about the girls who wanted to date me. Bizzaro World definitely lived up to the name I gave it at times._

"_So what is the job?" I cut him off._

"_From 837 to 1541 the Swiss Royal Magic Academy was one of the most prestigious institutions in the world," he began, settling into his teacher mode, "Hidden somewhere in the Alps, only a select group of magicians were invited to study or research there, and most had their memories of the Academy's location removed before they left. Only a handful of trusted recruiters were allowed to know the location, and even they were under magical compulsions not to tell anyone. Until, in 1541, all communications with the Academy were lost. All of the recruiters I was aware of at the time launched an expedition to find out what happened. None of them were ever heard from again, either."_

"_So, I'm guessing you somehow have found the location of this Academy," I noted._

"_Yes," he grew excited, "After hacking the United States' ground penetrating radar satellites, and confirming the results with a new generation of scrying spells, I believe we have found the location of the Academy. So, the Occult Research Club is going to live up to its name, and explore some mystic ruins for their summer training camp."_

"_And you are telling me all of this because you want me to come, too," I deduced. When he nodded, I prompted, "Okay, but why?"_

"_I have two reasons to want you to accompany us," Azazel admitted, "First, is because the Academy was not particularly fond of Devils, Fallen, or even Angels. So I think having a Human magician along might be helpful in bypassing whatever traps and spells may be left. And second is because of Lash and her enhanced version of Language. She seems to be able to not only speak any language, but also read them. Which might come in handy if they used a form of writing I'm not familiar with."_

"_That all makes sense," I agreed, "So what's your offer?"_

"_My deal with the Club is that I get all of the Academy's research, while any art, gold or other items of value will be sold and the profits shared equally with each member. You will, of course, be entitled to the same share…"_

"_No way," I cut him off. The Fallen looked surprised, "You already as much as said you need me for my specialized skills. And you are asking me to give up a week or more of prime summer work time, for potentially nothing. This Academy could have been looted already, and that's assuming there was ever anything of value to begin with. Don't forget, I'm working to live."_

"_Alright," he shrugged, "You can have my share, too. And if it comes to less than __200,000, I will make up the difference."_

"_And?" I prompted._

"_And what?"_

"_The magical research you are after," I said, "I want copies."_

_He gave me a shrewd look and said, "I reserve the right to withhold anything pertaining specifically to the Fallen… and I suppose to the Devils, too."_

"_Fine," I shrugged. Then I gave him a hard look back, "As long as you turn over anything that will only effect Humans, and not any supernatural being."_

"_Point taken," he smiled, "Copies of everything we find. Do we have a deal?"_

_I didn't full believe him. But I expected he would only withhold the really nasty stuff._

"_One last thing," I relaxed, "Since this is a training camp, I want to verify that travel and any room and board expenses are already covered."_

"_Yes, yes," he waved that off, "I have rented an airplane and hotel rooms for the first night."_

"_Well," I extended my hand, "When do we leave?"_

* * *

><p>"Less admiration, more options," I scolded the Gregori leader. Wasn't he supposed to be in charge of the expedition?<p>

"This is supposed to be a training camp for Occult Research," Azazel countered, "It would not do for the advisor to do all the work."

"That's what you said when we got lost in the caves," I groused, "And when the golem in the entry room decided we weren't supposed to be here and attacked."

I took a breath to focus. An uncomfortably warm breath.

"Someone must have touched or bumped something," I repeated, "And it might help me figure out how to stop this if I knew what and where."

Looking slightly embarrassed, Koneko pulled her hand from behind her back, showing us a tassel that had been part of one of the previously crumbling and now burning tapestries. Right, before she was a Devil, she had been some sort of cat spirit. And since Ise had helped her with a family issue, she was not only falling for the breast maniac, she was also being more open with her emotions and her nature.

Catgirl sees dangling thread, can't resist touching it, and triggers trap. So now I had to watch both her and Ise…

'I find myself more and more interested in these Evil Pieces, my host,' Lash told me, 'to be able to turn not only Humans into Devils, but also Human-Fallen half-breeds, Vampires, and cat youkai as well…'

"Okay," I ignored her, "Everyone get back near the entry. Now that I know where the trigger was, I'm going to try some detection spells, and I need to keep the interference to a minimum."

They moved towards the way back as requested, and I fired up a couple of my calculated magic scanning spells. Which in turn partly a smoke screen, and partly a way to enhance what I was really doing. As the circles probed the magic in the room, I opened my Sight.

I instantly saw the traps behind the various items of art on the walls. None of the scrolls or paintings had been in good shape before the fire, and the spell had finished the job. Each of the smaller circles fed into a large mandala on the other side of the fire. Naturally.

The main body of the spell was an order of magnitude more complex than anything I had studied so far. It was seven concentric circles, and I did not recognize most of the glyphs in said circles. I did not worry about trying to figure out how it blocked or absorbed Rias's power, now that I had seen it in my Sight, I could study it at my leisure and with perfect clarity. So instead I tried to figure out the best way to take it down with making things worse.

One layer was familiar, the one providing most of the power to the spell. I could not help but grin, a normal magician would have been lost, studying magic properly was going to pay off here. It only took me a second to figure out how it worked. And that I had the perfect tool to take it down.

I reached into my duster, and drew out an aluminum cylinder was a few gold highlights, a large button and a small dial. Lash had called me crazy, ordering a custom casing from the US, fitting the exorcist's sword inside, and even coming up with a spell so the metal grip would not get slippery. But it was my lightsaber, and I was going to do it right. Including slaving another new spell to control the blade's length to the afore mentioned dial.

I pressed the button, and with the expected snap-hiss, a three-foot blade of purple light shot out of the hilt. My choice in colors wasn't just because Mace Windu was a badass mofo. It was also because, given the state of my soul, I wasn't sure if Jedi blue or Sith red was the more accurate hue for my lightsaber.

I turned back the dial until the blade was only half its usual length. Then I wrapped the hilt in a layer of Soulfire infused Winter ice. I threw my lightsaber at the wall, and then raised my hand as if to direct its flight.

As I had deduced…

'guessed, hoped,' Lash interrupted my monologue.

… the light blade cleaved through the fire, leaving a small hole in its wake. And the protection I put around the grip hissed but held as the wider body of the weapon brushed the edges of the gap. The saber paused for a second in midair, and I waved my fingers. It shot into the invisible seal, striking the rune I wanted. For a moment the mandala became visible, then it vanished. A second later, the wall of flames vanished, too.

"There, simple enough," I said with more confidence than I felt. I gestured again, and my lightsaber flew back to my hand. And I resolved to rub it in Lash's proverbial face later; she had complained that researching a spell to 'throw' the lightsaber was a waste of time.

"That was so cool," Ise fanboyed. My grin grew a little wider, until…

"But the rest of the room is still on fire," Rias interrupted with a hint of worry.

* * *

><p>I could not help but gasp as we entered the cavernous room. And it sounded like one way or another, Azazel needed a change of underwear,<p>

The Chicago Public Library was bigger, but not much. And if the Gregori leader's random factoids were correct, no fewer than half of the books where devoted to spells and magical research. Many of them lost to modern practitioners.

The members of ORC gulped too, but after a moment, I realized their attention was on the skeletons. Most of the nearly two dozen sets of bleached bones were Human. Or maybe Devils or Fallen. Did their wings have bones, and if so what happened when they retracted them?

I shook my head and forced myself to focus on the remains of the dragon. Its skeleton was also white, and was surrounded by a variety of scales, dark green in color and ranging in size from as big as my hand to the size of a serving platter. The wyrm had been at least 150 feet long in life, and was surrounded by the splinters of tables it had shattered when it fell.

"I suppose we know what happened to the Academy," Akeno said.

"Yeah," I pointed my staff up at the ceiling. A large portion of the fresco was broken away and the hole filled by uneven chunks of stone.

"The dragon burrowed in," Kiba continued, "And attacked the Academy and was killed in turn."

I shook my head, "I think it killed everyone here, and was injured in the process."

I indicated a second pile of tables pushed together into a sort of impromptu giant bed. Portions of the wood were stained black with blood.

"Azazel said there was an expedition to find this place by the recruiters," I explained, "I am guessing they were the ones who finished the dragon and died in the process."

"Either way, be sure to collect the dragon's bones and scales," Az noted absently, his eyes darting around madly, "I will claim a third as part of the research material, and we can sell the rest as your loot."

It was a good thing he said it that way, because other than the books he already had a claim on, the dragon's remains were the only thing of value we had found even remotely intact.

"Ddraig isn't happy we are going to be using one of his kindred like that," Ise noted cautiously.

"Tell Cleavage Ryu, his buddy should have thought about that before he slaughtered how many innocent students studying here," I shot back.

"He says he'll shut up now," the Pawn said.

No longer able to wait, Azazel somehow managed to combine a slow dignified walk with skipping like a giddy schoolgirl, as he approached the closest shelf. His eyes played over the books, and then widened further.

"Sealing the Fleeting Flames," he said, though in the back of my mind it sounded more like, "My Precious."

I had already checked the room for traps before letting anyone enter. No sense in a repeat performance. But there were no traps, only a spell on the door, to prevent the fire trap in the hallway from spreading to here, and a few other spells inside too decayed for me to identify.

Azazel grasped the spine of the book, and with the rasping a rubbing dry leather, started to slowly pull it. But as the binding passed the edge of the shelf, dust cascaded down. Shocked, the Fallen all but ripped the book free, revealing nothing more than empty cover with a mass of crumbled paper or parchment behind it. Once the book was clear, its neighbors fell to the side, and powder began to leak from underneath them as well. Looking desperate, Az grabbed a random book on the next shelf down, with the same results.

"No," he whispered, finding a third tome expired, "no, no, no, no."

"What happened," he turned to us, "there should have been preservation spells?"

"There were no active spells in here," I told him, "Only bits and pieces of spells that ran out of power at least two hundred years ago."

"But the spells should have lasted longer than that," he whined.

"The dragon," Rias decided, "The spells probably wasted all their strength preserving the library from the dragon's breath. Fire or acid would have worn them out."

"That means…" Az had moved to a second shelf, and then a third. And then began emptying shelves with a speed that most Knights would have envied. Once he was convinced, he collapsed, still staring at the two book covers he held.

"Spirits of the Devilkin," he moaned, "The Founder's Prayer Book. So much knowledge, lost…"

The members of ORC began to spread out, checking any bookshelves Az had not reached. I went to the ones furthest from the dragon's corpse and nest, hoping that maybe if they had been far enough from the battle they might have lasted a little longer. Ise followed me, and we started taking out every book.

"Dresden, what's the title of this?" he whispered to me, pointing a book that had not fallen when he removed its neighbors. But I instantly realized the real reason he was interested was because of the outline of a naked woman on the back. And as my eyes fell on the title, Lash started to snicker in my head.

"Mastering Mammaries: A Neophyte's Guide to Mystical Foreplay," I read off the modern translation for him dutifully, also keeping my voice soft. I wondered if the book had its own personal preservation spells, for other reasons. And Ise smirked and tried to take it off the shelf.

As he pulled the book, it leaned towards him with a deep click. We looked at each other in shock as the bookcase slid backwards.

"Okay, I'm guessing they made sure the librarians were female," I noted randomly, then I called out to the others, "Secret passage."

The other members of Rias's peerage, plus Irina, hurried over. But Azazel trudged over slowly, still looking defeated.

"Hmm," I grunted, feeling a strong power coming from the short hallway, and noticing a powerful seal still active on the back of the shelf. I guess that was why I had not been able to sense either when I scanned the library.

"This was pretty well protected," I told them, "Although the book hiding it was mainly just too embarrassing for most people to check out or get caught reading."

"Harry-kun," Az had finally caught up with us and there was a renewed hope in his voice, "Does that say what I think it does?"

"Workshop Gamma," I read Lash's translation, "Current Occupant: Headmaster Flamel. Trespassers will be immolated and then killed."

I chuckled at that. It was the kind of threat I would make. Then I set about examining and disabling the traps. Asia and Gasper watched me closely; as Bishops they naturally gravitated towards magic. The wards were lighter than the ones that had burned out the main hall, and they had not been recharged in four hundred years. Even limited to calculated magic, I was able to take them down pretty easily.

"So, the legendary Nicolas Flamel really did become the headmaster here after he faked his death in Paris," the Fallen mused, and then I recognized the name. In my world Flamel had been a low rank member of the White Council who had been caught using some very flashy magic in a busy Paris market. He had had to fake his death and go into hiding. Even in my time, the non-magical community had stories saying that he was an alchemist, and the White Council touted him as an example of what happened to wizards who were not properly cautious. He was even famous enough to have been a MacGuffin character in _that_ series. At seemed like Bizzaro World's Flamel had a similar story.

"But this is Gamma," Az mused, unaware of my own musings, "Which means there should at least be an Alpha and Beta."

He looked out at the other members of the Occult Research Club, and instructed, "The rest of you, spread out and see if you can find the other workshops. Dresden, Hyoudou, and I will check out this one. But if you find any others, Rias and Akeno can check for spells, but still don't do anything until Dresden can double check. We've already seen enough things in here that don't respond well to Devil power."

"If you are done with the spells here, Fire and Ice?" he turned back to me and Ise as Gasper and Asia drifted away to start the new search. I gave the hallway another once over, and then nodded. Without hesitation, the Gregori leader burst into the room.

The workshop was slightly larger than my apartment. The right side of the room was dominated by a massive 'U' shaped desk that covered the entire right wall and about a third of the front and back walls. The sides were covered with the research instruments, various flasks and vials, a mortar and pestle, two magnifying lenses, a burning tray, hammer, chisels, etc. But the center portion of the desk played host to four intact books; three large tomes in a stack, and a slight smaller notebook lying open next to them. And beside the books was a medium sized dagger. I had to assume the knife was magical because it was too intricate and unwieldy to be useful otherwise. On the other side of the room was a single shelf, empty except for a moderately sized chest on the bottom ledge.

"'On Persistence of Semi-Divine States'," Azazel cooed as he read the titles of the books in the stack, "'Arithmancy of Sacred Gears'. 'Artifacts for the Uninformed'. Flamel really was research Gears. But I can't read this one."

He indicated the one I had identified as a notebook and looked at me expectantly. I sighed, forcing myself to remember that I was getting paid for this. So I trudged over to act as translator.

"I don't get it," Ise said, looking curious, but out of his depth, "Why are the books in here okay?"

"This lab has separate preservation spells," I explained as I gingerly picked up the journal, "As well as a bunch of shields to prevent fire, explosions, and other mishaps from damaging the library. You remember what has happened during my early attempts to cast calculated magic."

Ise nodded.

"Either this room was far enough out that the fight with the dragon didn't reach here, or the shields kept the battle from straining the preservation spells."

"But if whatever they were doing in here was so dangerous, why build the workshops close enough to the library to need the extra protection?" the Pawn continued.

"Because there are… were… probably some books that were not supposed to be removed from the library," Azazel answered this time, while rapidly turning the pages of the first book, "And in case they needed to get another book before they lost a train of thought."

"August 14, 1541," I read the last entry aloud, after Lash figured out how to translate it. Flamel had written his journal in code, mixing languages and alphabets, and then applying a substitution cypher over the top, "I have confirmed that the Fallen Azazel is also researching Sacred Gears, with the intent to reproduce them, if only in a limited fashion. So much as I am tempted to approach him about a collaboration, given what the Gregori have done to the Gear Bearers they have gotten their hands on, I suspect such a partnership would detrimental to my longevity. Thankfully, I have gathered the resources I need to continue my work in secret; two Twice Critical gears, and one Lizard Tail gear, as well as enough funds to acquire any additional Gears and books in a manner which cannot be traced back to myself or the Academy."

"The Gears he acquired are long gone," Az looked up from his reading as I trailed off, "They are hard to passively seal so they would have moved on to new owners by now."

"Dresden," Ise called, his voice as reverent as if he had found a US Playboy. I set down the Flamel's notes, and turned back. My jaw dropped as the full weight of what I had translated was made clear.

Ise had opened the chest. It was maybe a foot long, eight inches wide, and four inches deep. And it was full of gold and silver coins, with a few gemstones peeking out here and there.

"Well," Az noted, cradling the books like they were his newborn daughter, "I think even if we find nothing else, we can pronounce this quest a success."

* * *

><p>Thirty two million yen. Thirty two million yen, and change. That was what my two shares of the loot had been worth after Azazel had finished selling the treasure and the dragon reagents. Just over three hundred thousand dollars at the current exchange rate. It wasn't retiring money, especially since I was technically about seventeen. But it was more money than I had ever had before. And most of it was sitting safely in the bank. So much as it was tempting to go drop a couple million yen on a few rare statues I had been eyeing in Akiba, or the deluxe Star Trek Blu-ray set (all the TV series and all the movies! Plus a phaser shaped universal remote!), I was thinking it would be better to invest in magical tool or books. Maybe make a 'Little Kuoh' if Lash could fill in for Bob.<p>

But before any of that, a posting in a local shop had caught my eye, and I had to make a customer service call. Which was why I was in a suburban neighborhood, ringing a doorbell. Even if the door was open and it would not have been rude in this instance to just walk in.

"Come in," a male voice called. I walked in and slipped off my shoes. The house was emptier than when I had been here last.

"It is a fine home, in a good neighborhood," the voice continued, "would you like a tour…"

The man trailed off when he saw me, and the smile slipped off his face.

"Wizard-kun," he said suspiciously, "I would not have thought you were looking for a house."

"I am not, Toshida-san," I put on my best manners, "But when I saw that you were selling your home, I realized that my wards must not have been sufficient, so I thought I should return you money."

I bowed slightly and held out an envelope. Instantly the man's demeanor changed. He looked like he had regretted suspecting me. He held up his hand and shook his head.

"I cannot take that," he told me, "whatever it was you did, it did help. And you warned me it might not be a total fix. Besides, my wife got a new job in Kyoto, so that ominous feeling I have is not the only reason we are moving."

He looked out the doors to his small backyard, not quite seeing the source of his dilemma. But after following his gaze, I turned my attention to the right, and looked upon the family home of my good friend Hyoudou Issei.

Though I had never been inside, I had seen Ise's house between when he rescued Asia and when he rescued Rias from Riser. It had been a normal suburban Japanese home, not unlike the one I stood in at that moment. And then Rias had moved in, followed shortly behind by the rest of the girls in the Occult Research Club.

Seemingly, and maybe even literally, overnight it had gone from being a house to being a manor. It was six stories above ground, and from what I had heard, at least three underground. It almost certainly violated the local zoning laws and probably had not been subject to proper building permits and inspections, but when you had the kind of money the Gremory family did, and Devil power to boot, those sorts of problems tended to fade into the background.

Which was all well and good, until the neighbors start raising a fuss. They handled that by placing all kinds of spells on the house (and I use the word loosely) to keep anyone from noticing or caring about it. I might have protested, but the same spells would also keep low level nasties out of the area, and the rest of the block safely ignorant of the more unusual happenings. And the spells mainly reinforced the Japanese tendency to ignore anything abnormal.

Except that Ise's next door neighbor was a minor Force Sensitive, so to speak. It would have taken him years of effort to even be able to cast a simple will'o'wisp spell once every two or three days. And it was not enough to let him see through the spells on the mansion. But he had just enough potential to know that something was off about the Hyoudou house. And most of its residents. When neither his wife nor his neighbors felt anything was wrong, he began to feel understandably paranoid.

Which was where I came in. After both Shinto and Catholic exorcisms failed to help, he had been desperate enough to call me. I figured out pretty quickly what was going on. I didn't tell him, for various reasons, but I had put up a few wards to lessen the supernatural static. But I had also warned him that it might not be enough. But he had said it already felt better, and thanked me, and paid me.

Now his look turned from apologetic to thoughtful.

"Would you be in the market for a house?" he asked me slowly, "To be honest, I was feeling a little guilty about selling; it wouldn't be fair not to tell anyone about… _it_. But if I did, they would either be scared off or think I was crazy. But you, Wizard-kun, you already know what is happening here, and you are probably better equipped to handle it than anyone else…"

He trailed off deliberately, trying to entice me. And I had to admit, it was tempting. I had long been considering finding a bigger apartment, or one closer to school. Now I could probably afford it. But buying instead of renting had a number of advantages. No shared walls for when I talked to Lash or blew things up while experimenting. And for that matter, freedom to reinforce walls so I could have a proper lab again.

And for that matter, he was right. I knew about Rias's peerage and the troubles they were likely to bring. Me being here to help, or at least run crowd control, that could save lives. And on the reverse side, if something came looking for me, I would have a houseful of backup on hand.

"I could let it go for nine million yen," he added, after giving me a moment to think. But if the hint of desperation in his voice had not let me know how badly he wanted to get away from this place, the price would have.

'For the size of the house and the neighborhood, that price is a steal,' Lash agreed, and then supplied, 'I would appraise the value at closer to fifteen million yen.'

"That is a generous offer, Toshida-san," I began, and he braced himself for me to refuse. Or maybe negotiate. Then I shocked not only him, but also myself and Lash by saying, "But I could not possibly offer you less than ten million yen."

"Are you sure?" he blinked.

'While I believe purchasing this home may be a wise idea,' Lash lectured me, 'raising the price was wasteful and unnecessary.'

"We would need to get the paperwork drawn up," I said, "But I recently had a minor windfall, and have been trying to decide how to invest or spend it. This way I can do both."

'And I'm not going to rob the man blind,' I told Lash, 'but this way I can limit myself to giving him a financial shiner, and still come out looking like the good guy. Better for business in the long run.'

She nodded, and I extended my hand to him.

"Do we have a deal?"

He thought about it for a moment, and then shook my hand.

* * *

><p>"Welcome back, Dresden-kun," Sona welcomed me, "Did the training camp go well?"<p>

"Not quite as expected," I told the Student Council, "But well enough in the end. Which is part of why I am here."

I turned to her Rook, and asked, "Tsubasa, are you free this weekend?"

Sona, Reya, and Tsubaki all gave me varying looks of displeasure, but I ignored them.

"I can be," she answered quickly, "Why?"

I knew what she was hoping for, but she should have known me better than that by now.

"Assuming nothing falls through, I will be closing on a new house Thursday. And I could use a Rook's strength to help me move a few things."

It wasn't a date, but…

"Of course," she said instantly. I almost felt bad, because I knew she would help, if only for the chance to see both my old apartment and my new house. Just like I knew…

"If you need any additional help, I am also available," Sona interjected.

"I might not be able to carry as much as Kaichou or Yura-chan," Reya touched her cheek thoughtfully, "but I am still willing to help. I could help pack, and organize your books when it comes time to unpack."

I really did feel bad about manipulating my three romantic pursuers like that. But as they say, 'all's fair in love and moving.'


	6. Chapter 6

_**Beyond the Outer Gates Lies...Moving Day?**_

There was a knock at my door, so I folded up the box containing my casual shirts and used the corner of my desk to drag myself to my feet. I walked quickly through the kitchen to the entryway, and took a glance out the peephole, just to be properly paranoid. But it was who I suspected and no-one extra, so I opened the door.

"I'm a bit surprised, Sona," I quipped, "I would have thought Tsubaki and the others would have come, too. To gawk and mock if nothing else."

Then I stepped back to let them enter.

"Good morning Dresden-kun," she smirked slightly as she passed me, "and there was some talk of it yesterday. But after I told them that if they came, they would have to help, they decided not to. Which turns out to be for the best, you were not exaggerating about the smallness of your apartment."

"Hiya, Harry-kun," Tsubasa smiled broadly as she lightly touched my shoulder, "I guess we'll be the only ones who got to see your apartment."

"Mornin', Tsubasa," I greeted her in return, "Thank you for agreeing to help. Mornin', Reya."

"Hello, Harry-san," she sketched a slight bow before taking of her shoes.

All three girls were wearing similar outfits. Heavy jean shorts that went down to their respective knees and had extra sets of pockets. T-shirts with sleeves that went down to the elbow and were of a heavy grade of cotton. But their tops were different colors, Tsubasa's shirt was a light sky blue, Reya wore canary yellow, and Sona's top was a pale green. Sona and Reya had slightly worn tennis shoes, while Tsubasa actually had on a pair of light work boots. It looked like they were dressed to work, not flirt; a fact most of me appreciated.

"Hah, I'm the first in Harry's bed," Tsubasa proclaimed triumphantly as she flopped down on my uncovered mattress.

Okay, I guess they could still flirt.

"It looks like you have not packed very much," Sona said, slightly disapprovingly.

"I don't have a ton of stuff to begin with," I pointed out, and then explained, "But I had a job last night, and I did not want to jinx it by starting packing before we signed all the paperwork on Thursday."

And when I had gotten up this morning, I had struggled with a bit of a dilemma as to what to do before the girls arrived.

The part of me, the part that said I should not be considering dating them, had wanted to make a mess. To artificially fill my garbage cans, dirty some dishes and pile them in the sink, leave random boxes and papers lying around. The hope being that if they saw I was a slob, and saw all my collectibles, they might not be so interested. Except Tsubasa, who would probably just think it made me more rugged, and start cataloging my fandoms.

The second part had argued for boxing my statues and garage kits, to try to hide my otakudom. At least until they helped me move. No sense scaring them off too early. Not that I really expected them to bail, I knew them better than that.

But the part of me that had won out, was the part that suggested I clean my apartment. Not for them, but so I could make sure I got my security deposit back. And after that I had packed my socks and undies, because none of the three sides could predict how my pursuers would react, and I was not in a hurry to find out.

"I never would have taken you for the superstitious type, Dresden-kun," Sona said dryly, apparently attempting to channel her Queen, "Next you will say you believe in magic and Devils."

"Ha, ha, ha," I said the words rather than actually laughing, "Setting aside the spells and powers that I know could jinx me, and the fact that the Chaos Brigade is still out there and can be a little petty… Well, let's just say I've seen enough evidence that, God's death aside, some kind of higher power likes messing with me."

She started to protest, but apparently could not refute me, so closed her mouth without saying anything.

"Well, I'm glad you got your house, Harry-kun, and I don't mind helping you pack," Tsubasa interjected happily. But Reya regarded me with a melancholy thoughtfulness.

"Sometimes I wonder why Harry-san sounds like he has so much more experience than we do, even though he is the same age," the librarian Bishop commented.

"I've had an interesting life," I told them, "And I've been told that I'm an old soul."

Lash snickered at that. I pointedly ignored her.

"Anyway, we better get started. I don't want to rent the van for any longer than I have to. And don't forget to tell me what I owe you, Sona."

Kuoh's Kaichou was old enough to drive and had her license, so she had rented a van for my belongings. And then picked up the other girls.

"We'll see," she told me.

* * *

><p>After we got the van loaded, Tsubasa and Reya left for the bus stop. There was only enough room for three in the cab. Sona had to drive. And I had to go with, since I knew where the boxes were going and the van would get there faster than public transportation. One of the two of them could have ridden with, but it was decided they would keep each other company instead. And if a traffic mishap allowed the Bishop and Rook to get to my new place first, Ise was already there, waiting for when my new furniture to be delivered.<p>

"So, what is your new home like?" Sona asked.

"Well, it's one and a half stories, plus a basement," I said, "It's got three bedrooms, but four bathrooms, which is a little odd."

"How can it be one and a half stories?" she frowned.

"The second story is just the master suite, and it's not quite half as big as the first floor."

The upper floor consisted of a spacious master bedroom, walk in closet, and three quarters bathroom. The basement was mostly wide open and unfinished, except that on one side of the stairs was another three quarters bath, and on the other was the furnace and laundry hookups. Unfortunately the washer and dryer had not been included. They were one of the deliveries Ise was watching for. Once everything was said and done, the main room of the basement would be my new lab.

As for the main floor, it had a smallish kitchen with a half bath next to it, a large open room divided by _shoji_ doors into a living room and dining room. The living room side connected to the front entryway, while the dining room had doors out onto the small deck overlooking the tiny backyard. On the other side of those rooms from the kitchen was a typical Japanese bathroom, complete with the oversized shower and washing area, and soaking tub that was big enough for me. And then there were the other two bedrooms, one small one that I planned to use for my study and library, and the larger one that would be a guest room.

As I finished describing the basic layout of my new place, my phone rang, and the display identified the caller as Ise.

"Hey Ise, what's up," I answered casually, "What? Wait. Just calm down. Okay, we're already on our way, we should be there in five minutes."

Sona looked at me in concern as I disconnected with a sigh.

* * *

><p>"Dresden," Ise started before we could even take out shoes off, "I'm sorry. I tried to get them to wait for me to call you."<p>

He led Sona and me into the living room area. The dividing doors were open, and both rooms were full to bursting with tables, chairs, bookshelves, and dressers. Plus the boxes of paneling and other, non-furniture sundries

"I didn't know where everything was supposed to go," he continued, "they did set up the washer and dryer downstairs. And the beds, though I'm not sure those are in the right rooms either."

"It's okay, Ise," I reassured him.

"But look at this stuff," he waved his hand, "How are we going to move it?"

I looked at my new furnishings. All total, the pile had cost me almost as much as the house itself. That was partly because getting beds and chairs in my size cost more. But it was mostly because all the furniture was heavy hardwoods, expertly crafted with dovetail joints and top quality glues. No cheap particle board and plastic connectors here. I needed stuff that could survive the kinds of abuse I was likely to put it through, intentionally or not. After all, I never knew when I might need my dining table to stop or slow bullets, or my bookshelves to be a weight I could use to crush a monster. Of course, none of that applied to the TV or PS3 I bought, but a guy has to have some fun. And I limited myself to one game system, which could also play movies, so I thought it was a good compromise between treating myself and not blowing all my money. But I also did not plan on touching that last ten million yen unless it was an absolute emergency.

"Well, Tsubasa should be here in the next half hour," I told him, "and it's not like Sona and I are slouches in the strength department. So, if you want, you can take off."

"No, I want to help," he shook his head, "And Asia-chan and Bunchou said they might stop by later, too."

So, he wanted to show off for them? I could see that. And put it to good use.

"That's good, we might need Asia's powers later," I told him. And then looked at the mess.

"Okay, then let's move the small stuff into the kitchen, and then we can transfer the four bookshelves that go in there to the study," I suggested, "And if two of us can handle it, the third could start to put away the dishes and silverware."

Of course, as it turned out it did take all three of us to move one of the heavy shelves, at least without Ise or myself cheating. And I was going to need my magical reserves later, and was not going to call on Winter just to move. So we had only gotten the first shelf into place when the buzzer rang. Ise and Sona hung back while I went to the door.

"Are you done unloading the van already?" Tsubasa asked as soon as she could see me, and before I could even see Reya.

"No, the delivery guys were in a hurry; they just piled most of the stuff in the living room and left," I informed her as I continued to open the door, "So we are trying to get some of it in place so we have room to unload and can start unpacking."

"Good thing we ran into some reinforcements, then," she smiled, and I saw behind Reya not just Rias and Asia, but also Koneko and Akeno.

"Well, if they are here to help, they are welcome. Everyone come on in, I'll order pizza for lunch, and I can give everyone the tour and we can figure out who will do what while we wait for food to get here."

* * *

><p>"Now what?" Ise asked, looking at the remaining stack of twenty four identical boxes.<p>

The two bedrooms, study, dining room, and kitchen were all set up, and all unpacked except for the clothing in my room. Though the electronics for the living room were still boxed on the gam.,. errr… dinner table. That was because the living room was not set up, which in turn was because of the basement.

I looked down at the cases of oak paneling. There was enough to cover the floor and all the walls of my basement. With spares for mistakes in either the install or in later experiments. That would be the first step of making my lab. Though it might not do anything from a structural standpoint, it was symbolically reinforcing the room, which was important to the spells I was going to add. It would also be the canvas for all the seals I was going to etch, to both protect the house from any external damage, and to protect the rest of the house from the lab. The wood would be easier to inscribe, and to replace when I created better seals or if I messed up and damaged it.

Unfortunately, that meant before any of the furniture could be moved downstairs, I had to install the panels. They were one quarter inch thick, eight inches wide, ten feet long, made of solid, pressure treated oak, and had a tongue and groove design that made them easy to assemble and also added to the symbolic unity of the whole. Another benefit for the magic.

"I guess that depends on whether any of you have the time and desire to help me put this stuff up," I shrugged, "This is going to take a while, and it will be more exhausting than just carrying furniture and unpacking. And I don't want to keep anyone here overnight. I honestly didn't expect anyone to help with this, but it doesn't hurt to ask. Either way, after we carry the boxes down, I'll take everyone out for udon, and then we can take the van back."

"I'm sorry, I can't really stay for dinner, either," Rias said.

"I'm not sure I would be able to help," Asia said sadly, "But if anyone gets hurt, I will be right next door."

Koneko did not answer, she just looked at Ise.

"Sorry, Dresden," Ise answered regretfully, "I'm busy tomorrow, so I gotta do my homework tonight."

"Like I said, it's fine," I told him.

"Well, I'll stay," Tsubasa said happily, "I'm sure it will be a lot easier with a second person."

"How do you intend to cut these?" Sona looked at the shrink-wrapped packages, "I saw the rotary tool you purchased to do the etching, but I did not see a saw attachment, nor would that be the best tool for the job. And I did not see any other tools that fit the bill."

"I was actually going to use the Black magic Vorpal spell," I told her, "I was able to make utility version of it. Slower to cast, but longer, cleaner cuts. Just like in addition to the glue, I'm going to use the Fey adhesion spell. I created a version that should last at least six months, so I can just renew it when I do the rest of the spells."

"If you can teach me the spell, I can assist with the cutting," Sona decided.

"I would like to learn it, too," Reya added.

"I think you should try to learn both of those spells as well, Asia," Rias announced.

"Bunchou?" the blonde looked at the older girl in surprise.

"You are a Bishop, and these spells may help you to defend yourself in the future," her King explained. Asia considered that for a moment, and then nodded.

"Then maybe I should stay, too," Ise offered. But Rias wrapped her arms around him and pulled his head into her breasts.

"On no, my lovely Ise needs to study," she said playfully, "And I will be more than happy to help."

Koneko glared at the red-head, and Asia puffed up her cheeks in anger. But Ise only grinned lecherously and let himself be dragged away. The Gremory Rook stomped after them, but the Bishop remained as instructed, still pouting.

"Alright," I said to them, "Tsubasa, can you bring down the first set of boxes while I teach them the cutting spell?"

The Rook grinned, and lifted in each hand a box that would have taken two of us to carry.

"I believe we were going to get udon, first," Sona interjected, and Tsubasa hastily set down the boxes, having briefly forgotten that as well.

* * *

><p>It was just past midnight when we had all the panels installed. We had sent Asia home after the first three walls were up, the former nun had been physically and magically exhausted. That left the four of us with the most difficult wall, the one with the three doors, plus the floor. But my three pursuers doggedly persevered.<p>

"So, what's next?" Tsubasa asked. I envied her energy, I was tired and Reya and Sona both looked like they were on the verge of passing out. But the Rook was still ready to go.

"Next is sleep," I told them, "I still have to etch the spells before we can take the other furniture down. And frankly, I'm in no shape to do it right now."

"Well, if you are going to need our help, maybe we should spend the night," the Rook's offer was only mildly suggestive. And the instant she finished it, her King's heavily lidded eyes snapped back to fully open.

"There will be no need for that," Sona said sharply, "we can all return home, and Dresden-kun can call us when he needs further assistance."

Reya nodded. Or maybe her head just bobbed as she struggled to stay awake. Tsubasa pouted.

"Are sure you can make it home?" I looked at them dubiously, "You and Reya look like you might fall asleep on the train. I do have the guest room, and we could put my old single bed in there for the night, so there will be room for all three of you. I promise to be on my best behavior."

"I would trust you not to do anything untoward," Sona said with a small grin, "But that does not change the fact that it would not do for Student Council members to stay in the home of a boy, without chaperones."

"Okay," I snorted in amusement, "Then, like you said, I'll just have to call you once the spells are in place. Goodnight."

Tsubasa padded over and kissed me on the cheek, saying, "Good night, Harry-kun."

"Night, Harry-san," Reya mumbled, not aware of what her friend had done. But Sona had definitely noticed. After scowling at the blue haired girl for a moment, the King seemed to come to a decision. She also moved to my side, boosted herself on to her tiptoes, and lightly kissed my other cheek.

"Good night, Dresden-kun," she whispered, her cheeks flushed, "I like your new house."

Then she led the other two members of her Peerage out, leaving me slightly shocked.

"Stop smirking, Lash," I told the Fallen before she could comment.


End file.
